ORO has the functionality for a user to request a copy of a paper if we cannot make it publicly downloadable.  When a paper is deposited in ORO that is subject to an embargo we add the email address of the OU author and then the paper can be requested via email.

Counts for this functionality are inevitably lower than downloads of fully Open Access papers.  For the last University year there were 1,927 requests for copy compared to 818,067 downloads (according to IRUS counts). However, if someone goes to the trouble of emailing a request for copy you can be pretty confident they are going to read the paper.

Moreover, we can get some useful data from these requests.  Requesters are asked to give us some information about themselves and why they are requesting the paper.  This makes for some interesting reading!  I’ve collated some data below:

• Of all student usage 37% are OU students – that’s a lot more than I expected given my assumption that ORO is a service used indiscriminately by people searching Google.
• 55% of usage is from researchers – this confirms to me that researchers are encountering paywalls to research that they want to read – despite the fact that they belong to institutions with access to subscribed content.

And the reasons why people request papers can melt your heart…

“I want to study”

“I am educating myself at home because i cannot afford to pay for a university education either in time or money due to my status”

… and reminds me why i love this job!